A contactless payment is a payment where a customer pays a purchase amount without handing a payment card or a payment device to a cashier at the point-of-sale (POS) and without swiping the magnetic stripe of a payment card through a payment terminal (also sometimes referred to as a POS terminal). In other words, a contactless payment is one made using a payment device that wirelessly transmits payment information to the payment terminal. Although physical contact between the payment device and the payment terminal may still occur in a contactless payment environment, physical contact between the payment device and the payment terminal is not necessary for transmission of the payment information from the payment device to the payment terminal.
Many payment terminals currently have the ability to read and process electronic payment information such as credit card or debit card information received wirelessly from a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone or other handheld computer) that is brought close to the payment terminal. Mobile devices configured with contactless payment technology are often referred to as “mobile wallets” or “electronic wallets.”
A mobile device having mobile wallet capabilities may allow a user to use the mobile device's interface to select a payment vehicle that the user wishes to use for paying a purchase amount. Subsequently, the mobile device may transmit payment information associated with the selected payment vehicle when the mobile device is brought close to the payment terminal. As used herein, a payment vehicle may be a payment instrument such as a credit account, debit account, bank card, or other instrument that can be used by one entity to pay another entity.
A mobile device is typically powered by a power source, such as a battery or the like, that is present in the mobile device. This power source may allow a user to perform several functions associated with a mobile device, such as making a phone call, accessing a network, executing a mobile application, making a contactless payment at a payment terminal, etc.
Sometimes, a user may forget to carry a power source for a mobile device. At other times, a power source may not be slotted properly in the mobile device. At still other times, a power source may be faulty or discharged, and consequently, the power source may not be able to supply power to the various components or modules of the mobile device. At still other times, a mobile device may simply be turned “off,” and consequently, the power source may not be able to supply power to the various modules of the mobile device, including the mobile wallet module. In each of these situations, today's mobile devices may not allow a user to make a contactless payment at a payment terminal.
Without the ability to make a contactless payment at a payment terminal in each of these situations, a user who usually uses a mobile device for making a contactless payment is gravely inconvenienced. This may lead to the user having to carry other back-up payment devices in order to make a payment in each of the above situations. Moreover, a user who encounters some of the above situations more regularly than others, such as frequent travelers, may stop using their mobile device for making contactless payments altogether. Consequently, this problem with current mobile wallet technology may prevent widespread use and adoption of mobile wallets because people need to know that their payment devices are reliable.
Therefore, for all these reasons and others, there is a need for a system that may allow a user to make a contactless payment at a payment terminal in a situation where the primary power source in a mobile device is not present or not active.